250.
Moving with all his strength, striking with all his strength, attacking with all his strength.
But.
"Kuh!"
All of it was meaninglessly blocked by a single finger of Ophis. Contrary to her unbearably cute appearance, the impression was that a terrifying power was condensed in her body, and it was the first time he felt that nothing he did would work.
He had met many strong enemies so far.
But among them, this experience was a first. No matter how strong the enemy, if he reached out, he could touch them. But with Ophis, no matter how far he reached, he couldn't touch her. He didn't even feel like he was fighting; it was like flailing his arms in empty air alone.
"End?"
Ophis asked indifferently.
Like an adult humoring a child's antics.
"Not yet!"
Issei let out a shout, denying Ophis's words. But in a corner of his heart, Issei understood. The difference in power between him and his current opponent, the gap between his power and Ophis's, was literally as vast as heaven and earth.
It wasn't a matter of someone better coming along.
As Ddraig said, she was an opponent of a different level, a different dimension.
Clamp.
"Stop."
In response to Issei's actions, Vali grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
"It's not a pleasant sight for me to see my rival being crushed like this."
"......"
"Why are you being so stubborn? You should know yourself that you can't beat Ophis; you probably know that better than anyone."
"I know that without you telling me."
He knew that much even without Vali saying it.
That his opponent was on a different dimension from the first strike.
He knew from the start that the difference in power was immeasurable.
The only reason Issei could still stand on both legs was simple: Ophis was dealing with him without holding even a shred of hostility.
Even so.
"I can't just stand by."
If he stood by, the Underworld would be destroyed by Ophis. In fact, facing her directly made him realize it. If the girl before him decided to rampage, no devil could stand against her.
Perhaps reading in his eyes that he couldn't be dissuaded, Vali no longer tried to stop Issei.
"Issei...."
"Hehe, don't worry, President. If there's one thing I'm confident in, it's my tenacity."
His comrades behind him looked at him with worry. Even if the entire Gremory servant group charged at Ophis, nothing would change. If they could inflict even a single wound on Ophis that way, it would be nothing short of a miracle, a great feat.
Clunk.
Stabilizers emerged from Issei's feet to fix his stance, and cannon barrels appeared on his shoulders. A technique that could be called Issei's maximum current output. It had the drawback of taking time, but Ophis didn't bother to stop him.
This technique itself was meaningless from the start.
Issei himself knew this, but he didn't stop. As dark red magical power condensed in the cannons, Ophis asked.
"Why do you obstruct me, Red Dragon Emperor?"
"Because I must stop you."
"The Red Dragon Emperor and his comrades have proven their own worth. That's why I decided to spare you. So why do you still stand in my way?"
"If I don't stop you...."
A feeling as if all the energy in his body was being drained.
The awakening of new power and consecutive battles in the fight against Shalba. The fact that even his finishing strikes yielded no results inevitably built up immense fatigue, both physically and mentally. Suppressing the urge to collapse on the spot right then, Issei answered.
"Because too many lives would disappear."
"That has nothing to do with the Red Dragon Emperor. Is there a reason to go that far for people whose faces you don't know, with whom you have no bonds?"
Certainly, that was true.
It was only recently that Issei became a reincarnated devil. He might have bonds related to Rias or Sirzechs. But other than that, he didn't even know the faces of other devils.
"You're right. I don't even know the faces of those I'm trying to protect now. They probably don't know about my existence either. Even if I make you back down here, I won't get any reward or anything."
"Then why...?"
"Even so!"
"...."
"Even so, that's not a reason not to stop you."
Issei shouted as if roaring.
"I acknowledge it! Ah, as infuriating as it is, I acknowledge what you're saying! You have the right to discuss the world! You saved the world alongside my brother! The beings living in this world owe you a debt! Maybe there are those who would only come to their senses if they died, as you say! I can't say there aren't such foolish people! But still, still?!"
This was an unbearably complex issue.
To a hero who saved the world, the future, the world itself... and to those who only cause chaos in the world, with all sorts of problems tangled together, it was impossible to define in a single word. One couldn't simply tell Ophis she was wrong here.
"Couldn't there be another way?! Instead of a method that kills everyone, couldn't there be a way where everyone can laugh and talk?!"
"There is no such thing."
"Right, maybe there isn't. But can't we at least try?! It's not too late to try and find another way, is it?! Is this way of opposing the world, fighting the world, really the right method?! I'm a fool, so I don't know! I don't know, okay?!"
Gooooooo.
As if responding to Issei's heart, an even stronger aura gathered in Issei's cannons. The charge finished, and Issei shouted.
"So I'll find another way! Not this method, but a future where everyone can smile, that possibility!"
Booooooooom!!!
The fired bombardment.
As if responding to Issei's heart, it displayed a power much stronger than before. If hit by this strike, perhaps not even a Satan, a god, or even a transcendental being could remain unharmed.
A power so intense it made one think that.
But.
"....."
Step.
Ophis walked out quietly from within the crimson aura raised by the bombardment, completely unscathed. Everyone present was astonished that even that level of attack elicited no reaction.
This was the current strongest existence.
The Dragon God of Infinity.
At Ophis's intact state, as if his mental strength was exhausted, Issei's Balance Breaker state dissolved and he collapsed forward.
Thump.
Ophis caught Issei's falling body with her own hands. She quietly looked at Issei, who was draped over her.
"You resemble Red."
Having pushed beyond his limits, he couldn't utter a word. He could only send a blurred gaze toward Ophis.
"But Red Dragon Emperor, you can say that because you haven't lost. Could you still say such words even if you lost your family?"
A vague sadness showed in her eyes. At those words, Issei recalled one fact. That his original brother was the dragon Great Red, who lost his life in a past battle while stopping an otherworldly invasion.
And that such a brother was family to Ophis.
Feeling he must answer this, Issei squeezed out his words.
"I would st-stop you...."
"Idealism, absurdity, foolishness...."
Then Ophis handed Issei over to the approaching Gremory servants.
"But it's also true that such a person became a new singularity. For Red's sake and that possibility, I'll let it pass this time."
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